Snickerdoodles

So I finally had time to go to the two story Crate & Barrel that opened by my house, and absolutely fell in love. I walked through the entire store twice just to make sure that I didn't miss anything. I cannot wait until the day comes that I am able to decorate my own house. I have a secret love for interior decorating and even decorated my friend's entire house last year! He let me choose everything, including the wall moldings, paint color, flooring, kitchen counters/cabinets, and furniture. I get such a kick from matching patterns and color palettes to see what materials blend the best. One of my guilty pleasures is home improvement magazines. I have a subscription to Better Home & Gardens and have no problem admitting that it's my favorite magazine. My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy for it, but who will be the one laughing when it's time to decorate a house/entertain guests/clean/cook and find fun ideas and tips? Not me.

Anyways, back to Crate & Barrel, there are so many useless kitchen gadgets that I want! I managed to hold back with the poor college student budget that I have and just walk out with a pastry dough scraper. It's always been on my list of things to get (along with a kitchen scale and a pastry blender) and now I finally have it. I'm starting my kitchen gadget collection early, so that when I have my own kitchen, it'll be well equipped with all my baking needs.

Who doesn't love snickerdoodles? I think that these are always a definite crowd pleaser, no matter what the audience. Kids, Teens, Grown-ups.. they all love them. I brought these to the birthday party mentioned in my last post and they were the first to disappear. This is the one cookie that I bake when I am absolutely clueless on what to bring to a party or social gathering. I bake this the most out of all my baked goods, and people never get tired of it. As a matter of fact, they just keep asking for it! In my opinion, any snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tartar is NOT a snickerdoodle! That is what makes the cookie, so don't omit it! As I've figured, it's a lot cheaper to buy cream of tartar online rather than in the stores. You can always buy it in bulk and store the rest in a air-sealed can/bag for later.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.